Obama and small donors: $5 on Cinco de Mayo

Follow the money

Going into the NC and IN primaries the Obama campaign is once again relying on the legion of small donors - and asking for a simple $5 donation. Spread across the nearly 1.5 million people who have already contributed, May just may get off to a big start for Barack. Is it really Cinco de Obama? Follow the money...

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Did Illinois State Police murder a corrections officer?

R.I.P. Lernard "Sandy" Grigsby

Police said Grigsby, 48 struck a sergeant in the head, then attacked the trooper. He then tried to grab the sergeant's weapon, and the sergeant fired twice, authorities said, hitting Grigsby in the abdomen. In an employee dormitory at Stateville Correctional Center?

Troopers were responding to a domestic disturbance in the dormitory. When a sergeant and a trooper found the woman who had made the complaint, Grigsby allegedly attacked the officers.

Lernard's nephew, MN Vikings DE Otis Grigsby isn't buying it. The Chicago Trib can't seem to find anything substantive to say... So Grigsby has taken his story to the public via YouTube.

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Elitist? Hillary Clinton Can't Use A Coffee Maker Or Pump Gas

Elitist? Obama's elitist? Here, we have Senator Hillary Clinton struggling to figure out an every day coffee maker. She just can't do it! How's she supposed to connect with the common person if she can't pour her own coffee -- from a machine?!

I guess it takes "testicular fortitude" to work the coffee machine, but if she can't then maybe these endorsements were a big mistake? Of course they were!

Check this disasterous Indiana episode!

Dr. Barbara A. Reynolds Set Up Rev. Wright To Hit Barack Obama

Many are upset that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would come to the National Press Club and essentially throw one of his parishioners, Senator Barack Obama under the bus, saying that he would "come after" Barack Obama should be become president and essentially showing the worst behavior one could imagine, stooping to the level of the stupid questions tossed by the media in attendance and insulting even the National Press Club moderator.

But now it seems we have a person -- a Clinton supporter -- who has it in for Barack Obama. A Dr. Barbara Reynolds, who when this is over may just become the poster child for African American fear of success. On her own blog, Reynolds writes:

And it is a sad testimony that to protect his credentials as a unifier above the fray the Senator is fueling the media characterization that Rev. Dr. Wright is some retiring old uncle in the church basement instead of respecting Wright for the towering astute father of progressive social and global causes that he is.

What?! Where she got that from, I don't know. But what I do know is this person who undoubtedly can't stand the idea of Black male success voted for Hillary Clinton in the Maryland Primary, and not Barack Obama. Think about that. She didn't vote for Obama, voted for Clinton, trashes Obama in her blog, then brings Obama's pastor to the National Press Club to make Obama look terrible and less than authentic.

And with all this, the Left Coaster goes out of his or her way -- whatever -- to make it seem that Reynolds was really innocent in all of this. Give me a break. She brought Pastor Wright back to the National Press Club because she knew they would take him this time versus 2006, when she first tried. She also knew it would have an impact damaging to Obama's campaign.

She -- like some other Blacks -- can't stand to see another Black man make it.

Obama / Wright NY Times Editorial Is a Home Run

Today's NY Times Editorial on Senator Barack Obama's angry response to Rev. Jeremiah Wright's appearance at the National Press Club was a home run. I too was not happy with Rev. Wright's presentation, complete with the "dog" pose after he answered one question. While the media questions were also stupid and race-batting, Rev. Wright lowered himself to their level.

But what hurt most was seeing Wright throw Senator Obama under the bus, when Obama took great pains to protect Pastor Wright even in Obama's landmark speech on race, a response to initial criticism about the former leader of Trinity United Methodist Church.

The LA Times is wrong.

This isn't about fitness, it's about character.

The article has the facts about McCain's time as a P.O.W. and his subsequent recovery, and the author suggests that if McCain is "fully disabled" as his pension indicates that he might somehow be unfit to serve as President. That's provocative, and it may help ratings for Vartabedian as he struggles to earn notoriety as a staff writer, but it's a red herring.

Nobody will deny that a retired military person is entitled to a pension. Nobody will argue that physical disabilities would disqualify a person from seeking this high office. Everybody can agree that years as a P.O.W. will require rehabilitative care and support.

So where's the beef?

The issue is character. In describing McCain's career after being released, Vartabedian offers these two facts:

After he was released in 1973, he returned home on crutches and began a painful physical rehabilitation. He later regained flight status and commanded a Navy squadron before retiring from the service in 1981.

Fair enough. The issue isn't about the tax-free status of that $58,000 pension, either. It's the implication about the character of a guy who claims a disability-status pension after he "...regained flight status and commanded a Navy squadron..." What kind of double standard is that?

He's a patriot, he earned a military pension...

...but either he's disabled, or he's not; I'm having trouble reconciling a naval flight surgeon finding an officer who needed rehabilitation fit to lead a squadron yet that same officer retiring with a disability pension based on events before he was re-certified to fly. Robert Schriebman, a senior Pentagon tax advisor and tax attorney who recently retired as a judge advocate for a unit of the California National Guard asks, If McCain can hike across the Grand Canyon, then why should he be getting disability payments from the government...?

Seriously, I don't care if they're tax exempt pension payments, I trust his rehabilitation left him physically fit enough for the rigors of elected office, but can anybody explain that to me how this double-standard fits with the moral character we want in office in Washington?

Senator Barack Obama : The Best Choice For President

Laurie and Awais are two Superdelegates who are the heads of the national college democrats, and have asked for comments on who they should select as President of the United States. My choice is Senator Barack Obama and I state why in this video. More here soon.

Jake Long: Miami Dolphins 1st Round Pick Meets The Media

I'm still uploading videos from the NFL Draft. For more, visit my YouTube channel Zennie62 and our NFL Draft blog.

Here we see Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long get selected "number one" by the Miami Dolphins, then meet the media in the Interview Room downstairs. This is more of a kind of behind the scenes video for those who've never seen the process with the media. I also included his Mom holding up his Dolphins "Number One" jersey.

Sex-Starved Women Out There? Really? Interesting

I mean what can I say other than that? I think the simple fact that the Global Economy has grown such that in America both women and men have to work their tails off just to make ends meet makes most women horny. Yes, even hornier than men.

What's wrong with that?

Well, not much, but then the article I link to refers to sex-starved wives! Yikes. Does that mean they're more likely to cheat?

Hmm....

Memo to America: MONEY TALKS (Cinco de B.O.!)

Memo to the Media:

Follow the money!

Nearly 1,500,000 Obama supporters have given to his campaign for the nomination of the Democratic party. The established media spins the question of "whether Obama is electable" because of his "loss" in PA though he closed the gap (which had been huge.) Let's note: Clinton's campaign is in serious debt while Obama's supporters continue to send in small donations - like the "$5 on 5/5, Cinco de Mayo, Cinco de B.O." concept.

Obama's Grassroots Fundraisers are hard at work, and money is coming from individual donors in small amounts - people who never donated before are stepping into the game. The unprecedented numbers tell the tale: more people are actively supporting this candidate than any other in history.

Memo to Obama: they get it.

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Caleb Campbell Forgoes Iraq For NFL's Detroit Lions - Video

In the 7th Round of the 2008 NFL Draft a huge cheer erupted from the small-compared-to-Day-One crowd and it was for a little-known cadet who also played football for Army. Caleb Campbell, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions in that last round. As that happened I talked to Dr. Bill Chackhes who gave me the details on Campbell's story. Caleb basically deferred going to Iraq as a officer after he is to graduate with the current Army class of 2008. The Army is allowing him to play in the NFL.

Everyone was enthusiastic to meet the man Bill called "The All American Boy" and this video captures that moment:

CNN's John King Uses Journalism To Express Racial Opinion

CNN's John King is a normally steady hand at reporting, but this night he took a wrong turn into a discussion for which he could not be objective, but uses the cover of reporting objectivity to make an emotional and disagreeable point.

He did this in the AC/360 Blog post he wrote, and I've linked to here.

This is the response I wrote there:

I think the main problem is that the "process" of hearing what Rev. Wright says has been so distorted that some people -- not all -- tune out what he's saying after the original sound-bites have been aired.

I think both John King and Merle Black are very guilty of this "myopic hearing" if you will. John, for actively seeking out someone who's Black to do John's talking for him, and Mr. Black, who's the willing participant in that process. This covers up the real need to hear not just what Rev. Wright has said, but who also said it.

Let's take 9-11: anyone who looks at our history without blinders knows that Somalia was the birthplace of hostilities that led to the World Trade Center attack. It was also a "white" (whatever that really means) Ambassador who said that America's chickens came home to roost.

Rev. Wright said that the ambassador made that statement -- but that fact has been ignored by people like John King, who could be accused of fanning the flame of racism for the sake of ratings and using someone African American to make a statement King himself personally believes. That's not CNN's roll. Not at all.

And John King should be more of a professional journalist, and not a pr rabble rouser. He -- and CNN -- can do better.